


Five Days For the Detective

by SangoChan2



Category: The Hobbit (2012), The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-28
Updated: 2013-04-07
Packaged: 2017-12-06 19:47:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 20,381
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/739437
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SangoChan2/pseuds/SangoChan2
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>'Asked myself what it's all for. You know the funny thing about it... I couldn't answer. No, I couldn't answer...' Detective Dwalin takes on a case but he's not so sure he wants to finish it when the victim's little brother, Ori, becomes one of the suspects...</p><p>a modern day AU</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Day 1

# Five Days For the Detective

### Day 1

Dwalin lit a cigarette and looked at his watch. One hour and five minutes. That’s not so bad. He can survive that. Only one hour and five minutes and he’ll be able to go home. He will stop by the convenience store, get a bottle of vodka, get drunk, listen to his neighbour Bofur play sax and crawl into bed to spend the next sixteen hours there. That way one more day will pass without him having to think about it. Having to think about anything. Yeah, that was a good plan. What could possibly go wrong in one hour and five minutes?

But he knew that just by thinking about it he was practically asking for something unexpected and unpleasant to happen... He wondered what it would be. Probably another mountain of paperwork...

They sure didn’t have so many papers to fill in back at the Homicide Squad...  

The door to the roof where he was hiding flew open just as he finished his cigarette. Ah, Thorin, the chief inspector himself... With two blue folders in his hand. Excellent, Dwalin sighed, he so knew it...

'Dwalin, we gotta go,' Thorin said.

'It’s only two folders, you can manage that all by yourself. You’re a big boy,' he took another cigarette from the pack.

'We got to go to a crime scene, there’s been a break-in. These,' he waved the blue folders in his hand, 'are records that could help us.'

'Wait, you mean,' Dwalin put the cigarette back and stuffed the packet in his pocket, 'that we are actually going out? That we will leave the building?'

Thorin gave him a reproachful look and turned to the door again. Dwalin followed him, chuckling. It may not be a great deal for the chief inspector, but Dwalin was used to fieldwork. And ever since he transferred here, this was only his third chance to get out of the office. He would take anything that would distract him from his own thoughts. Whoever did that break-in, he had Dwalin’s deep gratitude because there was nothing better than a chance to leave the 13th precinct building.

*****

Ok, so whoever did this break-in deserved a life imprisonment in a teeny tiny cell listening to some 80’s boyband all day long with Dwalin’s housekeeper providing the food. He had never in his whole life wanted to scream and get drunk (not necessarily in that order) so much as he did during those three hours in Mr. Dori’s mansion in Blue Hills...

It wasn’t so much the fact that he was supposed to be off an hour ago. Neither the way the famous jeweller talked about everyone who was not part of his upper class (had Thorin not been there, Dwalin would have gladly punched him after the first ten minutes). No, what made him so angry and powerless was the way the snob treated everyone around him including his own family. His youngest brother, to be more precise.

'I should warn you,' Thorin told him in the car on the way here, his whole focus on the road. He liked that about his friend, Thorin never got distracted. 'Mr. Dori is... extremely protective of his wealth and property. He is a nice and polite man most of the time, but once his stuff is threatened something in him switches and he’s kinda... ehm, well...'

'Isn’t he schizophrenic or something?' Dwalin asked.

'No, no,' Thorin shook his head, 'more like... extremely greedy.'

'You know him well then?'

'Our fathers used to be friends, but that was a long time ago...' Thorin frowned a little as he turned into the most posh neighbourhood in the whole city. Dwalin kept looking at the vast mansions as they flew by one by one. All marble, glass and steel. All surrounded by fences so high you could only climb them with a rope and yet full of enough openings to provide a nice view of what’s behind them to make as many people as possible jealous. Dwalin could picture a violent homicide in any of them and the motive would be as clear as the day light.

The sun had already started to set when they reached the main gate and were allowed to enter, eyes of four security guys following them.

What was the point of having four men guarding the gate after break-in had already happened was beyond Dwalin. Perhaps Mr. Dori had a nice insurance on his stolen stuff and the security was there to stop the burglar in case he changed his mind and wanted to return what he had stolen...

For all Dwalin knew, it could be true. These rich people were mostly weirdos...

He closed the blue folders on his lap and looked at the mansion. Pretty, really pretty... Unlike most of the mansions here, this one was built of solid white stones. He knew from his records that it was  more than sixty years old and yet it looked brand new. He had no idea that jewellers made such nice money.

Thorin parked next to half a dozen police cars and once they got out a police officer joined them with a relieved smile.

'Sir,' he greeted Thorin and nodded to Dwalin.

'What do we have here, Fili?' the chief inspector asked, scanning the area with his eyes and the young officer started to present facts they had learned so far in a nice neat order.

1\. Mr. Dori had his whole family for the dinner tonight. The dinner was to be served at six o’clock.

2\. His brother Mr. Nori, co-owner of their family company, arrived at five o’clock and together they had a glass of whiskey in the library, where the safe is located.

3\. Their youngest brother, Mr. Ori, shareholder of their family company, joined them there fifteen minutes later.

4\. At 17:30, Mr. Dori received a phone call telling him that his most precious jewel was in danger. Both his brothers witnessed the call. Mr. Dori got agitated, opened the safe and all three of them reassured themselves that the Heart of the mountain, the most famous jewel in the world, was still there in complete safety.

5\. Mr. Dori closed the safe again and few moments later they were joined by the ladies and all of them retired to the dining room.

6\. At 17:50 everyone in the house heard a gunshot coming from the direction of the main hall. They all rushed there but there was no gun, no stranger, nothing broken, the main door safely locked.

7\. Mr. Dori felt uneasy and went to the library to check on the safe and there he found out that the safe stood open, all the jewels and money laying untouched precisely where he put them, the Heart of the mountain the only thing missing.

8\. At 17:55 they called the police.

Dwalin turned to look at Thorin. What the hell? Why would anybody shoot into the air while stealing a diamond... or whatever the Heart was? Now that he though about it, why would anybody go steal anything during a broad daylight with everyone at home?   

'I take it nobody in the house is injured?' he asked officer Fili.

'No, sir. Well... not by a gunshot at least...'

'What do you mean?' Thorin intervened.

'Well, there’s a lot of yelling going on inside, sir. Mr. Dori is suspecting everyone in the house to have his or her fingers in the robbery because there is no simple explanation of how it could have been done without someone on the inside and some, like Mr. Nori, take it as an insult and are yelling back... Some however take it more personally... I for one am very glad I could get out of there, sir.'

Now, after three hours, Dwalin would very much prefer to be outside as well. By now he had a splitting headache that was not helped by him sitting in an armchair from god-knows-what century, that was making him even more uncomfortable.  

They walked trough the house, examined the library, read through the testimonies and now Mr. Dori kept on chattering about the jewel, his family, his enemies, his company, the price of wallpapers (?), difficulties with household staff, cars getting smaller and smaller, the weather, the food, temperature in Russia these days (??), Elvis Presley (???)- that’s when Dwalin stopped listening altogether, letting Thorin to deal with the jeweller himself.

Instead he looked at the people assembled in the sitting-room. There was Mr. Dori himself. Gray-haired, gray-eyed, well dressed. If he was quiet, Dwalin would have assumed that he was a nice enough fellow to invite for a beer. As it was he would rather do the paperwork for the rest of his life than go to pub with him. Unless the jeweller paid, of course... but he couldn't quite imagine under which circumstances would they arrive into such a situation.

Next to him on the sofa sat his wife. She looked like a female version of her husband... That really caught Dwalin’s attention because you don’t see that too often. Opposites attract, they say. Not so in this case obviously. She was dressed in smart black dress, the rest of her body covered in diamonds. Dwalin had never seen so much jewellery on one person... All the jewels were probably made by her husband, back in the day when he still bothered to work with his hands... Though, he had to admit, they were all spledidly done, even he could see that... Especially the rings, they glistened on her fingers, drawing attention away from her dry skin... She was one of those housewives who hang on their husband’s every word, her world too distant from the real one. Dwalin couldn’t see her having anything to do with the robbery, she had no use for the jewel. He couldn’t even see her getting a lover who would manipulate her into stealing it...

Their daughter sat by the fire, her dress the colour of champagne. Dwalin was pretty sure that there was some sort of unpronounceable name for that exact colour in one of her fashion magazines... She was bored and it was painfully obvious that she wanted to be somewhere else. There was a faint mark on her neck. It must have been hidden beneath the make-up before but as the evening progressed the make-up got wiped off a little bit... Interesting. He wondered whether her parents knew... She didn’t seem particularly bothered by the fact that the most prized jewel in the world had just disappeared.

The co-owner, Mr. Nori himself, was sitting in an armchair next to her, smoking one cigarette after another. Whether it was only the rubbery or something else as well, Dwalin didn’t know, but something was bothering him immensely. He kept listening to his brother’s monolog and twitched from time to time.  He looked very sleek, this one. Taller and more slender than his brother. Impressive watch on his left wrist. He spent the last two hours pacing the room nervously, yelling on his brother every now and then and now finally sat down.

His wife on the other hand was the epitome of calmness. She sat beside a small coffee table, sipping sherry with the same frequency her husband twitched, her long fingers holding the glass gently. She had as many rings as her sister-in-law but hers were more graceful. She was embroidering the whole time (who on earth does still embroider?). Dwalin was under the impression that if a bomb fell right through the roof at that moment she wouldn’t even move. She would probably just look at the mess afterwards and with soft fine voice utter, 'Oh my... ' There you have it, opposites attract. A textbook example. What use would she have of the jewel? None, absolutely none. From what he saw from the pictures, it was far too big for her taste...

The last one in the room was the youngest of the brothers, Ori. He was still more a boy than a man. He sat opposite Dwalin with his hands clasped tightly in his lap, his face as white as snow. The moment Mr. Dori introduced them Dwalin got scared that the boy was sick and would faint at any second.

'Are you all right?' he asked him then.

The boy raised his eyes to him. Were they red? Had they any proper light in the main hall he would have known. As it was he wasn’t really sure. What he knew however was that Ori was terrified. Dwalin didn’t really understand why, he couldn’t picture the boy having anything to do with the robbery either...

Someone else could though, as was proven later when his oldest brother got into the paranoia fit again and accused everyone in the room (including Thorin and Dwalin) of stealing the Heart of the mountain. The man should really take some pills for that...

'Oh, please don’t worry, detective,' Mr. Dori intervened then and pushed Ori aside to introduce his daughter. 'He’s always like that. Poor health, you know.' That right there was the moment Dwalin took a strong dislike for the jeweller.

So far, Ori was the only one in the family who looked in any way normal. He was dressed in normal, though probably still expensive, clothes and wasn’t covered in excessive jewellery. And if Dwalin was honest with himself he had to admit that the boy was strikingly beautiful. Once or twice he looked at Dwalin over the rim of his glasses, his eyes the warmest shade of brown, before turning his gaze away quickly. There was something about him Dwalin couldn’t describe...

He looked at his watch again. Half past ten. Brilliant. His precious time for alcohol, sleep and self-pity was getting shorter with every minute... Normally they would have been gone within one hour with all the evidence and testimonies but since the owner in this case was extremely talkative it was taking this long... Dwalin was only glad that the burglar, whoever it was, didn’t shoot anyone. It would take the whole damn night for Mr. Dori to prattle to his heart content in that scenario...  Perhaps he and his wife didn’t talk to each other and that was why he had the need to talk to strangers so much...

Thorin must have caught his movement because just then he said, 'Well, that would be all, Mr. Dori. We have all we could possiby need at this moment. You all go and get some rest and we’ll see you in the morning.'

The jeweller looked disappointed, 'Oh... all right. Thank you, Thorin. But you two will come tomorrow, right? You won’t send any rookies by?'

'Of course not, sir. I can assure you that I treat this case as if it was my own personal matter...'

Dwalin shot a look at him. The chief inspector was looking intently at the jeweller. Strange choice of words...

'Oh, detective, do you think you will find our Heart of the mountain? You simply must!' Mr. Dori’s wife turned to Dwalin, her voice high-pitched. He looked at her sternly, how he hated women like that, all drama.

'We will certainly give it our full attention, madam. But I’m not going to lie to you, it’s not gonna be easy. He was some very skillful chap, this burglar of yours, not leaving any clues...' he answered.

Everyone in the room, including Thorin, twitched. What was it with people here?

*****

Dwalin left the convenience store with a pack of cigarettes and ice cream. All that time in the mansion had completely destroyed his desire to get drunk. He needed something cold that would ease the pain in his head. There was something extremely fishy about this case... Like there was more than just the robbery...

Thorin dropped him by the store, muttering something about needing to check something and drove off quickly. Dwalin stopped on the pavement and lit the cigarette, the streetlamp above him flickering. His flat was two minutes from here, but it was still warm outside and there was no rush. He could hear his neighbour playing saxophone even here... A strange sad melody...

There was light in the bakery across the street, even though it was after midnight. A warm yellow light in the back, where the kitchen must be. He had never been there, normally he wasn’t a big fan of sweet things. The whole front part seemed like a coffeehouse now that he looked inside. It looked nice and cozy. A huge sign on the door said _Closed_. Had the baker already started preparing for the morning? So that people rushing to work in the early hours could get their breakfast? How tough...

He thought about the boy again. Ori... The look on his face as he and Thorin said they were leaving. Dwalin glanced at him because he couldn’t help it. The boy looked terrified the whole evening and no matter what his brother said, there was more than just poor health... The boy knew something but didn’t dare to say it.

But mostly (Dwalin wasn’t one to lie to himself) he looked back at the boy because he wanted to see those warm brown eyes again. And they were looking back at him, almost as if asking him not to leave... He had the strangest urge to hug him, tell him everything’s going to be fine, take him away from that strange mansion... Something like that had never happened to him before. He never cared about sad and frightened boys, he didn’t really know whether Ori was scared, hell he was pretty sure the boy didn’t even live in that house...

Dwalin took a drag and moved toward his flat when he caught a glimpse of the baker and stopped. Why, it couldn’t possibly be...

He crossed the street slowly and stepped closer to the door, peeking inside. And there, a white apron over jeans and sweater, moving across the kitchen, was Ori. He left the mansion few minutes before them in the end because the jeweller remembered some things he didn't have time to tell them during those three hours... What was he doing here? Dwalin glanced at the sign above his head - _Ori’s Café_. He never noticed before... was it his? He hadn’t gotten as far as Ori in the records Thorin gave him...

He kept looking at the boy for a moment before knocking on the glass door lightly. Ori in the kitchen raised his head, surprised. When he saw him he smiled. Then frowned slightly and lowered his eyes. But then smiled again softly and went to the door, opening it.

'Detective?' he asked.

Dwalin raised the hand in which he was holding the ice cream, 'I was hoping to switch some ice cream for a coffee...'

The boy eyed the ice cream tub as if wondering if Dwalin was telling lies or not. 'All right,' he said finally, smiling, 'Come on in.'

God, what a smile. 


	2. Day 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The second day, during which nobody is well rested, Thorin has some nervous tics and Dwalin gets few things straight with Ori...

# Five Days For the Detective

### Day 2

'This place’s really yours?' Dwalin was watching Ori making him coffee, his fingers flying over various jugs and instruments with self-assurance of someone who’s been doing that for years.

'Yes,' the boy answered, smiling a little, 'did you think I was stealing pastry?'

'No, it’s just that...'

Ori pressed few buttons on a mysteriously looking machine. Making coffee was obviously more complicated than rocket science. Funny that until now Dwalin never noticed... He simly put the instant coffee in a mug and poured hot water over it. Or he bought a cup in fast food and they never seemed to do any of this complicated stuff... Maybe what he had been drinking all these years wasn’t really coffee...

The boy turned to him and placed small white cup with saucer in front of him. Fancy... And pitifully small. Do they do coffee like this in places called _café_? One fifth of a normal cup? One would have to spend his whole paycheck here just to clear his head a little after a tough day...

'Did you think I got all my money just from being a shareholder?'

'No... Well, yes. If anything I supposed you’d be a jeweller like your brothers...'

'Oh, but I am,' Ori leaned on the counter opposite him, supporting his head with one hand and looked at him. Those warm brown eyes hidden behind glasses peering at him. 'Almost everyone in my family is.'

Dwalin took a sip of his coffee. It was hot, burning his tongue but at the same time miraculously easing the pain in his head. Or maybe it was the fact that they were sitting in near darkness, no bright light hurting his eyes. Ori dimmed the lights in the kitchen and they were now looking at each other in the light of the street lamps that shone in through giant windows. It covered everything including them in a pleasant orange shade. Or it was just the boy’s presence, it soothed him somehow. It was most peculiar...

'Are you somehow saying you’re working as a jeweller during the day and then stay here and bake croissants whole night?'

Ori straightened up a little, 'It’s not just croissants, you know. I make pies, muffins, brioches and...'

And on and on he went, naming every pastry Dwalin had ever heard of and even some he had no idea existed. It must run in the family, this urge to talk. He didn’t really know what to make of this kid... His gaze fell to Ori’s lips when he unconsciously licked them. They were softly pink, he could see that even in the orange light. He looked healthier now, not so stressed as in the mansion...

'... you would know that if you ever came in, instead of just passing by all the time...'

The detective’s eyes flew to Ori’s. 'You’ve seen me passing by?'

'Yes, every day... Ever since you moved here two months ago...' 

Dwalin felt his heart starting to pound faster. How come he never really looked at this place? How come he never noticed this boy inside?

'Don’t you ever sleep?' He took another sip of the coffee and finished it. It tasted real good.

'Not really, no...' Ori took the empty cup slowly and looked at Dwalin hesitantly. 'Would you like one more?'

'Sure.' Anything to watch him do all those complicated moves again, he looked so calm while doing them. The boy smiled at him.

'So that’s how it really is? You make jewellery, then go and bake, watching the street while doing so, and then go and make jewellery again?'

'Most of the time I’m here...' Ori put a new cup in front of Dwalin. 'But if Dori needs to mend any old or antique jewels, he asks me. Since I don’t sleep all that much, I have time for both...'

'You ever thought about taking sleeping pills? Or counting sheep? Or... I don’t know, watching a really boring movie?'

The boy giggled and Dwalin found that he loved that sound.

'I don’t have much patience for boring movies. I did try counting sheep few times but that didn’t work... and I don’t like taking pills...' Ori hopped on the counter next to his mysterious coffee machine and sat looking at Dwalin.

'Can’t be healthy though, not getting any sleep...' the detective muttered, eyeing his coffee. Two sips and he could go home. But he didn’t want to, so he kept staring at the cup instead. What was it with him?

'I guess...,' the boy suddenly smiled widely, 'I’m like a vampire, except I don’t sleep during the day either...'

'Yeah, you’re pale enough for that, too...'

Ori was looking at him for a moment before dropping his gaze to where his hands were clutching the apron and asked, 'Did you come to ask me about the robbery?' Dwalin shot a look at him. The boy looked scared again. What the hell happened in that house? He could really use a cigarette... Was he allowed to smoke in a café?

'No, I didn’t,' he answered. 'Unless... you wanted to tell me something that’s not in your statement.'

Ori’s shoulders relaxed a little, his eyes never leaving the apron, 'No...'

'Fair enough,' Dwalin drank half his coffee. To his surprise it worked just as well as cigarette would. That would be a bonus of real coffee...

'Do you like it? The coffee?' Ori was looking at him intently, standing in front of him all of a sudden.

Thank god he didn’t buy that vodka today. With any amount of alcohol in his blood, no matter how small, in this precise moment he would have bent down and kissed the boy. He had very nearly done it now. What was it about him that attracted him so damn much?

'Yeah, I like it,' he said. I like you, too. I have never wanted anyone else in my bed as much as you. Oh, bloody hell...

'Than perhaps...' Ori was running his fingers across the hem of his apron,'next time you walk by... you could come inside and have one...'

*****

'You look awful...' Dwalin looked at Thorin as he got in the car, 'few more hours and you’re gonna get yourself a nice beard...' As far as he could remember he had never seen the chief inspector unshaven. There were dark circles under his eyes, so probably a rough night. Dwalin wondered with whom... Thorin never talked about his private life, not even with his best friend.

'Had no time to shave this morning...' his eyes focused on the road again.

'Had any time to sleep last night?'

Thorin glanced at him, 'No, I was... looking for someone...'

'Ah, the lady gave you a slip?'

The chief inspector’s fingers tightened their grip on the steering wheel but he didn’t say anything. He kept looking stubbornly ahead and Dwalin decided not to push it. Well, at least he wasn’t the only one who didn’t get much sleep...

He stayed at Ori’s Café till four in the morning, drank five more coffees, two glasses of orange juice, ate three muffins, upon Ori’s insistence didn’t pay for any of it and then went home. Had not the first customers appeared he might still be there now. It was unexpectedly hard to leave.

Ori turned out to be even more chatty once he got used to Dwalin, and to his own surprise the detective was actually interested in what he was saying. He learned that the café belonged to his mother initially and that she named it after him when he was really little because he always liked to help her in the kitchen. He inherited it, when she passed away. The two of them were the only ones in the family for whom gold and gems didn’t come as priority. She could create the most beautiful things out of fondant and sugar, he wished Dwalin could see them... she wrote four books about baking and was real famous, too...

When Ori was telling him this, they were both in the kitchen. Dwalin sitting on one of the chairs in the corner trying to stay out of the boy’s way as well as he could, Ori making all sorts of dough and pastry and creams and washing everything he didn’t need anymore at once. Dwalin liked that, he was orderly and neat. He was fascinating...

He did everything as if it was the easiest thing in the world, he treated ever single thing he was preparing with utmost care. He could conjure up tiny brittle flowers out of mere sugar and didn’t accidentaly break any of them. He managed to monitor seven ovens at once and never burned anything. 

'It doesn’t make any sense to me,' Thorin was talking again. 'The gunshot that everybody heard...'

'Yeah,' Dwalin grunted, 'I don’t get it either, no sign of the bullet anywhere... Unless of course one of them shot the burglar and he ran away with bullet in his, I don’t know, shoulder I suppose. He wouldn’t run if he got shot in the leg. Or head for that matter...'

Thorin hit the brakes and stopped the car so abruptly that had Dwalin not worn seatbelt he would have flied right through the windshield. 

'What the hell, man?'

'You think it’s possible? That they could have shot the burglar?'

Dwalin was looking at his friend. Thorin’s unshaven face was suddenly very pale, his eyes staring at him almost as if asking for denying of that theory. Why on earth did he care if someone shot an unknown burglar?

'No, I don’t think it’s possible,' he said, massaging his shoulder where the seatbelt nearly cut into his skin, 'for one thing, we have checked all their guns. Every single one of them for which they have licence and they are all locked securely in the cellar, none of them had been used for more than a year. Fili’s boys have gone through the whole house, they would have found a gun if there was one hidden somewhere. They have a good deal of axes and maces around the house but none of it is capable of producing any sound that would even remotely resemble a gunshot. Plus they all looked awfully calm (I mean, if you ignore the agitation because of the robbery), I dare say they would be more nervous if one them shot a burglar, don’t you think?'

Except that wasn’t true and he realized the moment he said it. Not all of them were calm...

'Yeah, I guess you’re right,' Thorin started the car again and set off in the direction of the city centre again.

The moment Thorin calmed down, an uneasy feeling took hold of Dwalin. Could it be true? Could Ori shoot at the thief? Dwalin couldn’t imagine him doing it on purpose, it must have been an accident. Perhaps he went to the library because he forgot something there and surprised the burglar in the main hall when he tried to sneak out. Perhaps the man tried to attack Ori and the boy shot him in self-defence... Jesus...

But then the rational part of his mind reminded him that it was very unlikely. If it really happened like that, there would be nothing easier than withold the fact that there was a gunshot... Surely everyone would try to protect the boy and agree that they didn’t hear anything... And if the police later found the thief with a gunshot wound, everyone would just assume that he got shot somewhere else, certainly not on the estate of a respectable citizen.

And anyway, why did he care? He didn’t really know the boy, if he truly did shoot someone that was none of his business...

But he did care, because if the boy really did it and the burglar then died somewhere, he would have to be the one to arrest him... And he didn't like the idea at all.

*****

Thorin was sitting at his desk, his fingers intertwined in front of his lips, his expression matching the sky outside. It started raining an hour ago and there seemed to be no end to it. Dwalin was standing by the window, for once allowed to smoke inside.

Seven o’clock in the evening. This was the longest day...

Unless someone from the family did it (to which Dwalin was starting to believe by now), the burglar was a real pro. There was nothing, absolutely nothing that could help them in any way...

But Dwalin knew there had to be something. Perfect crimes don’t exist in real life, there is always a mistake... The criminals always inadvertently leave some sort of clue, if only they could find it...

In the reflection on the window he could see Thorin reaching for his mobile and then putting it down again. He had been doing that the whole day and it really started to irritate Dwalin around the lunch time, ever since then Thorin did it every time he thought Dwalin wasn’t looking. Wow, she had to be really something...

'Why don’t you just call her?' he finally snapped over a box of lasagna.

Thorin looked at him and his glare could crack the icebergs, 'Don’t you think I’ve tried?'

Dwalin had nothing to say to that so he sipped the coffee he snatched from the guest room. Ugh. Yep, his whole life he had been drinking something that only resembled coffee...

He finished his cigarette. Ori will come to his café in four hours. He will walk through the darkness to the kitchen, turn on the lights there and start baking. He asked him when Dwalin was leaving this morning if he will come again tonight...

'How is it going?' Fili entered the room.

Thorin and Dwalin looked at him, the fact that neither of them was thinking about the case was more than obvious. Thorin coughed.

'Slowly,' he replied.

'You stuck?' Fili grinned at him and the chief inspector turned to Dwalin for help, he wasn’t his usual self today.

But yeah, they were stuck. They had Mr. Dori in their office in the morning who added a lot of useless stuff to his statement. All the testimonies agreed with each other to the dot and said that no one saw anything. All the windows, all the doors, everything inside the house was locked. The security cameras were no help either, they caught nothing unusual... The camera above the safe recorded Mr. Dori opening the safe at 17:32, all three brothers peeking inside, none of them taking the Heart of the mountain out, Mr. Dori closing the safe at 17:36, his wife approaching him there one minute later, movement of shadows as they all moved from the library. Then at 17:38 a dim golden gleam, probably one of the logs in the fireplace flaming up suddenly and then at 17:40 darkness and nothing since then. The burglar must have switched it off. So much for the quality of Mr. Dori’s security cameras... Considering how paranoid he was, the jeweller didn’t invest all that much in his security devices and alarm system. One shouldn’t be able to switch a really good security camera off just that easily...

'Well, I’ve got something that could help you,' Fili passed Thorin a folder, 'just got it from the lab. We found some blood in the house.'

'In the main hall?' Thorin asked, flipping through the papers.

'No, sir, in the library.'

They both looked at him and Thorin passed the folder to Dwalin, who came to sit down at the corner of his desk.

'Probably some housemaid cut her finger while dusting all those axes...' the detective muttered and looked into the papers too.

'It was fresh, sir. And it matches no one in Mr. Dori’s family or household staff. Well, gentlemen, I’ll be off now. Unlike you two, I like to stick to my working hours.'

Both detectives were silently watching him as he passed through the door and disappeared. There went Dwalin’s theory that someone from the family (preferably Mr. Dori himself) had the jewel stuffed into his mattress...

'All right,' he sighed, 'we should-'

Thorin stood up from his chair so quickly that Dwalin nearly fell from the table.

'For god’s sake, man!'

'Dwalin,' the chief inspector said quietly and his eyes met Dwalin‘s, 'I’ll call the hospitals and see if they know something. You go home and get some sleep.'

'I could-'

'That’s an order.'

*****

'You never talk about yourself, do you?' Ori clutched his cup of tea, orange raindrops hitting the window beside him in regular patterns. He was sitting opposite Dwalin in one of the café’s booths, huddled in the detective’s jacket, all lights switched off again. He got soaked in the rain when one of his keys got stuck in the door. If Dwalin didn't come he probably wouldn't get inside tonight.

Dwalin smiled a little, 'You didn’t give me any chance to talk last night.'

The boy looked at him, wide-eyed, 'I’m so sorry, I didn’t realize...'

'I was just kidding,' Dwalin chuckled, 'there’s not much to know. Nothing interesting anyway...'

'Are you married?' Ori blurted out suddenly, turned red and dropped his gaze, 'I’m sorry, that‘s none of my b-'

'No, I’m not,' Dwalin answered, probably too quickly. Why was it so important to assure the boy that he was free? It wasn’t like Ori was interested in him... was it? His heart was pounding faster again. He lit a cigarette because by now he knew he could and because he counted on it to calm him down more effectively in this case than coffee. 'My relationships never work out all that well...'

The moment the nicotine hit his system everything was better, more clear. Even if Ori really was interested in him, he was still a witness in his case, he couldn’t have anything with him until the theft was solved. One way or another. And the way things were going, well... But he was probably just kidding himself, there was bound to be a pretty girlfriend in Ori’s life. Someone as handsome as him had to have a pretty girlfriend...

He looked the boy in the eyes. Did he really shoot someone yesterday? Or was he nervous because someone else, someone dear to him, did? Was he only trying to protect someone? They should know soon enough, if Thorin has any luck with the hospitals...

' _That’s just the way that we love, like it’s forever. And then live the rest of our lives but not together_...' Ori said and then added with a smile, 'It’s a song.'

'Are you married?' Dwalin asked in his turn after a moment.

'No,' the boy shook his head like it was the silliest thing he had ever heard.

'Yeah, I guess you’re too young for that...'

'No, that’s not...' Ori got even more red, 'I don’t... I mean, I’m not...' He was fidgeting with a sugar shaker and looking stubbornly at the table. 'I’m not interested in women...'

Dwalin thanked god for being a long-standing cigarette addict otherwise he would have choked on the smoke. Oh... well, that changed things... Did it change things? Not really, no... He finished his cigarette, not really knowing what to say and all that time Ori didn’t look up from his cup even once.

Then suddenly he sneezed and Dwalin automatically scanned the table for any napkins but there were none. He saw some on adjacent table, stood up to get them and Ori flew to his feet as well.

'Oh, please, you don’t have to...'

Dwalin turned to him. Now that they were this close he noticed how small the boy was, his jacket was far too big for him... They were looking at each other in that dim orange light, the silence filled only with the sound of raindrops and their pounding hearts... Ori’s brown eyes looked so kind and gentle...

And Dwalin did what he wanted to do ever since they met. He bent down and kissed the boy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lyrics from: Mika - Happy Ending


	3. Day 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The third day, during which Thorin proves that he knows exactly when to call, tells Dwalin something he did not expect and then sleeps with him...^^ maybe... ;)

# Five Days For the Detective

### Day 3

Ori’s lips were so soft... Dwalin had kissed a lot of people in his life but none of them could compare to this... He relished the texture of skin, the faint taste of tea and lemon, the sweet scent of rain in his hair... He kissed the boy softly, he didn’t want to scare him, he just wanted to show him that it was all right. If he really wanted him, it was all right for the detective. More than all right...

And then Ori’s arms hesitantly reached for his shoulders, clutching the fabric of his shirt there and Dwalin’s jacket fell silently to the floor. Dwalin pulled him closer and the boy kissed him back. Equally carefully at first but his kisses slowly became more passionate, no more shyness in them. Almost as if he wanted this for a long time and now that it was happening he was making sure it was real. That Dwalin was really there...

And the detective was captivated, overwhelmed... He tried to think about how on earth did this happen. He tried to think about how it would be wise to stop it now, before they take things even further. But he couldn’t... all the thoughts, all the worries that filled his mind for days now, months and years really, were disappearing, leaving only Ori. As if he was some centre point around which all his future thoughts and worries will revolve... It was an incredible oblivion...

He slipped his arms around Ori and picked him up, the boy's legs automatically wrapping around his waist. He sat him on the table and when Ori laid on it, Dwalin went down with him, the boy’s arms still around him, their lips never leaving each other’s.

The sugar shaker and both their cups fell to the floor, the sound of shattering glass and china a strange yet familiar melody in Dwalin’s ears. He thought Ori might worry about the mess but he didn’t, his hands slipped to the detective’s chest and he slowly pulled his shirt up to his stomach, his fingers caressing the naked skin on Dwalin’s back...

Dwalin moaned. God... was he really going to do this? Was he going to make love to a boy he had known only for two days on a table in café? For every sleepless passer-by to see? Ori looked at him, his face flushed, his chest heaving, his hot breath brushing Dwalin‘s lips... Yeah, he was. He was going to do it and not give a damn. If this was what the boy wanted, who was he to deny it...  

'Do it,' Ori whispered and it were the most arousing words in the history of mankind.

Dwalin bent down, his lips meeting Ori’s again, his own hands unfastening the boy’s belt. From somewhere he could hear his mobile ringing. He didn’t care, whoever it was he could wait...

The rain outside kept pouring, only the sound of Bofur’s saxophone making its way through it... and the phone... Thorin... he could be in trouble...

He had to summon all his self-control to break the kiss. The boy’s right arm reached behind his head to the windowsill and a sudden unpleasant chill hit Dwalin’s back where up till then Ori’s hand was caressing him.

The boy passed him his phone, 'It could be important...'

Dwalin was looking at him. He was so warm, he was all comfort. He was the only one who could make all the bad things just go away... He didn’t want that magical moment to end... God damn it! He glanced at the phone. It was Thorin...

He took the mobile from Ori and answered.

'What?!'

'I’ve found him...'

'What?'

'Could you come to St. John’s hospital?'

'You couldn’t have chosen a better time...'

'I’m sorry if I woke you... But it’s important.'

'... I’ll be there in ten minutes...'

'I will wait here.'

Dwalin looked at Ori. The boy sat up slowly, straightening the sweater Dwalin had at some point rolled up, not daring to look up at him. Was he still going to be shy with him? Even after all this... The detective cupped the boy‘s cheeks and kissed him.

'I’m sorry, but I’ve got to go...'

Ori nodded, blushing all the way up to his hair, 'I know, it’s all right. But you’ll... you’ll come back, won’t you?'

*****

Dwalin was standing next to the chief inspector, looking at the man lying in front of them. His face was pale, dark curly hair spread like a halo around his head where bandages didn’t cover it, high cheekbones... certainly handsome. He looked rather peaceful in the quiet hospital room, with only the beeping sounds of the machines around him...

'You sure it’s him?' Dwalin asked.

'Yeah, I had Oin over. The blood in Dori’s library is his, all right...' Thorin nodded, 'He’s got a gunshot wound two centimetres from his heart. The bullet stayed inside... small caliber, small gun... He hit the traffic lights down on Lake Avenue pretty badly, probably fainted from the blood loss...'

'Is he going to make it?'

'They don’t know yet... Though he probably won’t wake...'

Dwalin stepped closer to the bed. If the man dies, then there will be a huge investigation as to who shot him and Ori could be arrested as a murderer unless they somehow prove it was self-defence... only because this bastard had to go and steal what wasn’t his...

'And you’re not going to believe this...' Thorin reached inside his pocket and took out a black velvet pouch. 'Nobody here bothered to go through his things, so I did.' From inside the pouch a huge shiny jewel tumbled out into his palm. The Heart of the mountain. Dwalin couldn’t believe it. All this time the jewel was just lying around in a hospital?

All right, one less thing to worry about...

'You didn’t call the boys yet?'

'No,' Thorin said quietly, eyes fixed on the stone in his hand, 'because all this time I thought it was someone else we were after. And if it really was him... I wanted to give him chance to get out...'

...

'That‘s why you told me to go home?' Dwalin lit a cigarette and looked at his friend. It was three in the morning and they were standing on the hospital’s rooftop, looking at the city lights below them now that it stopped raining for a while.

'Yes,' Thorin nodded, his eyes fixed on something far away, but Dwalin knew he wasn’t really looking at anything in particular.

'So who is he? This mysterious burglar of yours?'

The chief inspector glanced at him, 'His name is Bilbo, and he was my partner...'

Dwalin took a drag and looked in the direction of Ori’s Café. What a pretty night it could have been...

'When you say partner, you mean he was also a cop and you used to work together or at some point in your dark past you were a thief and you used to steal together?' Dwalin chuckled. That was a good one. Or maybe not, maybe he was only too tired for this...

'When I say partner, I mean I loved him... and he loved me back...'

Dwalin turned to look at him. The chief inspector’s blue eyes were closed, his expression sad, the wind ruffling his usually neatly combed hair... Why is alcohol never there when you need it the most? He took an extra long drag and looked back at the city.

'So what happened?'

'This fricking stone, that’s what happened,' Thorin was still holding the Heart of the mountain in his hand... 'It used to belong to my grandfather. Only he was too paranoid that someone was going to steal it, he never told anyone he had it. People knew it was in our family in the past but whenever someone asked about it, he said the stone was long gone. Even I believed it... I remember seeing it as a boy but never since then, so I just though it got lost or something, like everyone else...

Then one night he calls and says someone has stolen the Heart of the mountain. But none of us believed him. We thought he had gotten too old, you know, that he only thought he had the Heart all this time... And then, few days later during one of these annual exhibitions the jewellers hold, Mr. Dori comes out and says he had purchased the Heart of the mountain from a certain foreign collector who wished to remain anonymous and the whole world goes crazy... It’s the largest stone of it’s kind... And grandfather had a heart attack and died that very same day...

But I still thought it was just a coincidence, I grew up with him saying that he didn‘t have the Heart anymore... And then Bilbo came and told me he had stolen a magnificent stone from an old mansion in Esgaroth Valley... He didn’t know it was my grandfather’s house. He got paid to steal the stone, he stole the stone, that’s how it worked for him. And I knew about it all the time, I knew it wasn’t right, but still I never did anything to stop him. He is the best in what he does. He hever hurts anyone, he never leaves any clues, never...

Well, I got mad at him then, I got this stupid idea that it was because of what he did that my grandfather died, I didn’t realize it was only because he loved a damn stone more than anything. But I blamed it all on Bilbo that night... And I haven’t seen him ever since. Each month, on the 22nd, that’s when we first met, he sends me a message. He tells me he loves me and that he is sorry...

That’s why I thought... when the Heart got stolen and there were no clues anywhere, that it was him. That he maybe tried to steal it back for me... And I got so scared when we were talking about the gunshot and you said that maybe one of them shot the burglar... because that would be my fault. All this time... I should have been the one to write him I love him and beg for forgiveness. But he doesn’t answer the phone, Dwalin...'

Dwalin lit another cigarette and looked at Thorin.

'If it’s the same phone he had when he was with you, maybe he only checks it on the 22nd because he thinks you’ll never write back...'

The chief inspector kept turning the Heart over in his hands, 'That’s still two days...'

The detective ran his hand over his face, 'So what do we do now?'

*****

Dwalin woke up on the sofa in their office and looked at his watch. Five in the afternoon, excellent, he slept right through the whole day. He looked over to where Thorin was still fast asleep on the other sofa across the room. They had to be quite a sight for anyone who entered the office during the day... He sighed. Fili was there for sure, he always dropped by. He bet the boy took some photos of them and by now they were hanging all over the precint building... They really should have locked the door before they dropped off...

They had both agreed not to tell anyone about their progress yet. The Heart of the mountain was stuffed in Thorin’s pocket, the thief in a coma in the hospital without anyone knowing who he is. They found a bunch of business cards with only the word 'Smaug' written all over them in his things, no ID, no driving licence, nothing. His fingertips were not in the database, the car he had been driving was stolen... But that didn’t bother them all that much. What remained however, was to find out who of Mr. Dori’s household was shooting that night and why exactly...

'I bet you anything it was the boy,' Thorin said as they finally laid down that morning.

Dwalin’s heartbeat quickened. 'Thorin, could you do me a favour?'

'Hm?'

'Don’t do anything until I’ve spoken to Ori, all right?'

Thorin looked at him, 'Sure...' and then he was snoring quietly...

*****

Dwalin opened the door of Ori’s Café and looked around. The place looked really nice in the daylight, a wonderful smell of something freshly taken out of the oven filled the air together with the scent of lilies that were blooming in front of the main windows. It was packed with people, ever single place taken. He saw Ori at one of the tables, refilling someone’s cup with coffee, smiling softly.

He turned to look at the newcomer and his face lit up when he saw Dwalin. He clutched the coffee pot to his chest, burnt his fingers while doing so and waved his hand while looking embarrassedly at the detective. Dwalin had to smile even though he decided he really needed to be a tough cop this time. Ori came to him and smiled.

'Are you all right?' Dwalin asked.

'Yes, it’s nothing,' the boy was looking at him, an utmost happiness written across his face. God, he was so beautiful... This was not going to be easy...

'Ori, I need to talk to you,' he said, 'at what time do you close?'

'In an... hour and... half...' the boy answered, all the colour draining from his cheeks, leaving him just as pale as he had been in the mansion. Dwalin took a step closer to him. Knowing he was the one who caused it this time was the worst feeling in the world.

'Do you have someone who can close instead of you?'

Ori nodded, turned around and went to the counter where he talked to a merry looking boy, a bit older than him. The boy looked surprised, shot a glance at Dwalin, smiled and patted Ori’s shoulder and then made a move as if to sweep Ori out, the café can certainly survive one hour without him.

...

Dwalin opened the door to his apartment and let Ori in first. The boy took his shoes off and placed them neatly beside the door. He glanced around, the wooden floor creaking beneath his feet. It wasn’t excatly clean inside, but Ori will surely understand that Dwalin was on the case and didn’t have much time for cleaning. Yeah, like he normally did it...

Ori passed to the window and looked outside, he could see the corner of his café from there. The dark clouds gathered above the city and it started raining again. There was one cactus on the windowsill, and Dwalin was afraid that it had already lived its best years. Now that he though about it, he didn’t water it ever since he moved here... Ori picked it up and looked at it with pity.

'I’d offer you something but I don’t have anything here except beer... and tap water...'

'That’s all right,' Ori turned to him, tiniest smile appearing on his lips for a fleeting second. Dwalin walked to him, he pulled him closer and kissed him.

'Ori, I need you to tell me the truth,' he whispered, 'Did you or did you not shoot the burglar at your brother’s house?'

The pot with the cactus fell out of Ori’s hands and hit the floor with a disproportionately loud crack.

'We’ve found blood in the library, we’ve found the burglar with a gunshot wound and I need to know whether you did it so that I could protect you. I know you wouldn’t do it on purpose, that it had to be an accident, but please, tell me what happened?'

When next Ori looked up at him, his eyes were red, giant tears falling over his cheeks.

'Y-you mustn’t h-hate me,' the boy choked.

'Jesus Christ, you really did it...' Dwalin took a deep breath and then brushed the tears from Ori’s cheeks.

The boy grasped his hand, 'No! It wasn’t me, I swear I didn’t do it, but...'

'Then who?'

Ori shook his head, 'I can’t...'

'Ori listen to me, we will find out sooner or later and if the burglar dies, you can be charged as accomplice simly by witholding the truth. And if it wasn’t an accident or self-defence-'

'But it was! It was self-defence because I...' And then he broke down in tears and slid to the floor and Dwalin sat down beside him, holding him in his arms. He felt Ori’s warm tears soaking his shirt, his body trembling, his frantic hearbeat...

He didn’t want this... But he trusted him, he knew Ori wasn’t telling lies, he didn’t do it. He was only protecting the one who did. A huge relief spread through him. They could arrest the rest of his family and it would be all right with Dwalin. His little Ori was innocent and that was all that mattered. Whatever it was he thinks he had done, Dwalin could get him out of it...

He bent down and kissed Ori’s cheek, the taste of salt lingering on his lips.

'It’s going to be all right,' he kissed every single tear he could find and then brushed his thumb over the boy’s soft skin. And Ori looked at him with big scared eyes, blinking away the tears that were left. The detective kissed him on the lips, 'It’s fine...'

And Ori’s hands clutched his shirt as he kissed him back, Dwalin’s arms wrapping around him. He shouldn’t. He should stop this, he should... But his hands reached for Ori’s jumper and pulled it over his head, his lips met the boy’s again and again, he had no control over any of it. And at the same time Ori pulled Dwalin‘s shirt up, his small cold hands touching his skin, sending shivers through the detective’s body.

Bofur next door started playing again, as he always did when it rained. The same sad song he played the first time Dwalin saw Ori in his café and thought he was a baker. The sound resonated through the wall, lightly trembling the floor on which he and Ori were now kneeling, kissing...

'Take me,' the boy whispered against his lips, his breath hot on Dwalin’s skin. 'Take me here on the floor...'

And Dwalin knew there was no way he could say no. He pulled down both of their shirts, his eyes never leaving Ori’s face. He saw him looking at his chest, taking a shaky breath before reaching out and touching him. His small fingers running over his collarbones, brushing over his nipples, caressing his stomach, stopping on his belt and unfastening it, trembling. Unzipping his trousers, placing his hands on Dwalin’s hips, caressing the skin there, too, before pulling the trousers down slowly. His lips kissing his stomach as he was doing so... Then he reached for his own trousers, unzipping them as well, and laid on the floor in front of Dwalin.

And the detective bent down, kissing him, pulling the trousers slowly down. Revealing a bit of lighty brown hair, that was not hidden beneath his underwear. He was so thin and fragile... Dwalin’s gaze fell to his underwear. Dark blue, but concealing nothing, Ori‘s hardness more than obvious under the fabric. And strong desire to see and touch filled Dwalin. He glanced up at Ori, the boy’s eyes watching him intently the whole time. The detective slipped his hand on that soft blue material, the only thing still preventing him from seeing his Ori completely naked. He ran his fingers lightly over Ori’s length and the boy moaned, his hands flying to his mouth.

'You can stop me,' Dwalin whispered, 'if it gets too much for you, stop me.'

'I won’t...' the boy whispered back.

And Dwalin pulled his underwear down too. He stood up and undressed as well. There was something exhilarating about the way Ori was looking at him, lying naked on the floor. Dwalin got on his knees again, gently coaxing the boy’s legs apart and sliding one of his own between them. He laid on top of him, he could feel his hardness next to his own, Ori’s warm skin everywhere around him.

Ori’s eyes flew wide open for a moment with the sensation but then he relaxed and they kissed again. He ran his fingers over the detective’s sides and then to the small of his back, they were warm now, just like the rest of him. And Dwalin moved his lips to his neck, the boy shivering beneath him, digging his fingernails in his flash. He won’t be able to stand this for long... if he was really going to do it, there was no time to do it slowly...

He wrapped his hand around Ori length, the sounds and moans escaping the boy’s lips arousing him even more.

'I can’t...' Ori mumbled, '... for much longer...'

Dwalin took him in his arms and rolled them over so that he was on his back now. And Ori kissed him, his tongue brushing Dwalin’s, his small hand closing gently around Dwalin this time. And the detective had to break the kiss to get some air. Dear god! The whole world turned black and he was panting...

And then Ori’s hand was gone, his lips replacing it. Dwalin wanted to shout something, anything, his throat dry as never before... He could feel Ori’s soft wet tongue caressing him with small circular motions; his fingers were back, running slowly over his length. It was blissful, delightful, marvelous... He could feel everything falling down of him, everything...

'Stop it,' it was he who spoke, and it suprised him even more than the boy. Few more of those motions and he would... but this wasn’t really about him...

He sat up, picking Ori in his arms and laying him on the floor again. It flashed through his mind that maybe this was the boy’s first time and he should be more careful... Could it be? But the way he was touching him... He looked at him, asking for any reassurance that he could go on, that he could finish this...

Ori looked back at him, his chest heaving, his cheeks flushed, arms on Dwalin’s shoulders again. He licked his lips and then raised one leg, placing it over the detective’s back. He did the same thing with the other one as well and Dwalin bit his lips to stop himself from coming. The movement, the spontaneity with which Ori did it... Dear god...

He raised his hips a little, adjusting the boy to the right position. He could feel the entrance right at the tip of his hardness and slid inside. He tried to do it slowly, but it was so difficult. Ori beneath him stifled  a cry of pain and dug his fingers into his shoulders. But Dwalin couldn’t stop now, even if he tried... It was all he could do to wait for Ori to get used to it before sliding in him with his whole length. And this time the sound that escaped Ori’s lips was a cry of pleasure...

Dwalin took a deep breath, kissed the boy again and started moving slowly. And after a few moments Ori kissed him back, his arms loosening their grip on his shoulders and moving to Dwalin’s hips.

Dwalin couldn’t think of anything anymore. All there was was Ori’s sweet tongue in his mouth, their bodies covered in sweat, as close to each other as they could possibly be, the heat of Ori’s inside around him, scorching him with every thrust... There was nothing but the two of them, nothing else mattered...

'Dwalin,' Ori’s voice, hoarse... his fingers tightening their grip on Dwalin’s hips, 'please...' Dwalin kissed him, burying his whole length inside him with one swift motion. And Ori cried out, his whole body arching, Dwalin holding him. He could feel him tightening around him, his slender beautiful body trembling in ecstasy... One more thrust was all it took for Dwalin to come as well, he buried his head in Ori’s neck, pleasure washing over him in mighty waves... He could feel the boy’s arms embracing him, his lips kissing his shoulder, his soft warm body still shivering... and then he fell into the most peaceful sleep in years.  


	4. Day 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The fourth day, during which cactus gets a second chance, Thorin stalks Bruce Willis and Dwalin makes up with his housekeeper... ;)

# Five Days For the Detective

### Day 4

Dwalin woke up because he was cold and it took him some time to realize where he was in his drowsiness. It was dark outside, the rain still falling... That’s right, that’s his window. He’s lying on the floor in his apartment... why? Ori. He was making love to Ori on this floor...

He turned his head slightly to the left and there he was. Huddled close to him, fast asleep. Dwalin ran his fingers over the boy’s arm, making sure that he wasn’t dreaming. That the boy stayed with him, didn’t leave... Good, good, that was good. He kissed Ori’s arm lying over his chest. It was ice cold and the boy shivered slightly in his sleep.

Dwalin sat up, cutting his hand on a piece of broken cactus pot as he did so. Where on earth was the cactus? There, by the armchair... That was lucky, if either of them laid on it in the evening, it would have completely ruined the mood. He chuckled. Then realized that he was chuckling in the middle of the night over something so stupid while his lover was probably catching cold right now. His lover... He liked that word. Ori was his lover now and he was his...

He picked Ori from the floor and carried him to the bedroom, the boy’s head resting peacefully on his shoulder. He laid him on bed, took out an extra blanket and spread it over them as he laid down next to Ori again, pulling him closer to himself. What time was it? It didn’t matter... nothing mattered...

*****

'Dear god, won’t you ever give up?!' Dwalin grumbled, pulling a pillow over his head. His goddamn phone started ringing for the third time already. It was somewhere in the kitchen but he could hear it nice and clear all the way to the bedroom... Then he suddenly realized that Ori must hear it too and if he doesn’t answer it soon it might wake him... He didn’t want that, as far as he knew this was his record when it came to the length of sleep... It was certainly more than four hours since yesterday’s evening because there was light outside...

He removed the pillow from his head and listened. Yeah, the phone was still ringing... He looked at Ori who was sleeping placidly and got out of bed.

It took him two whole minutes to find his mobile between his and Ori’s things.

'Are you all right?' Thorin’s voice, distressed, speaking as soon as he answered.

'Of course I’m all right. Why shouldn’t I be all right?'

'Because we were supposed to meet at seven, and it’s ten...'

Dwalin narrowed his eyes, went to the window and looked out. The sun was shining and it was definitely too high in the sky for it to be an early morning...

'Oh...'

Thorin on the other end chuckled, 'You’re not alone, are you?'

'No... Listen, Thorin, I might... take a day off. Would you mind?' Dwalin let the window curtain fall from his hand and turned into the kitchen, stepping on another little piece of the pot. Brilliant, if he keeps on doing that he might find them all and then he could glue it together...

'No, I don’t mind at all. It’s Saturday and everybody’s getting out of town anyway. I’m going to check some printing offices, see if they know anything about those business cards we found in the burglar’s things. Have you spoken to Ori yet?'

Dwalin glanced into the bedroom where the boy was sleeping in his bed, 'Not yet... It’s the plan for today...' That wasn’t a lie, strictly speaking...

'All right, I’ll take the rest of the day off as well then. If you find out someting, I’ll be in my place, staring at the phone...'

Dwalin smiled. 'Be careful at the printing offices though, some of them are bound to know and god knows what they’ll do...'

'Sure, dad...' he could hear Thorin laughing as well before he hung up.

Dwalin laid the phone on the table and looked around. Now what?

He took a shower and got dressed. He picked up Ori’s and his things from the floor, throwing his in the laundry basket and smoothing and folding Ori’s. They smelled like him, some sweet unknown scent. He swept the soil and shards from the cactus pot, carefully picking out the shards purely for the fun of it. Then took an old mug and put the soil inside. With a lot of cursing he managed to pull the cactus apart from the armchair’s upholstery and stuffed it into the mug. Watered it (with a great feeling of satisfaction) and put it back on the windowsill. And then went and checked on Ori.

The boy was still sleeping, breathing peacefully, his cheeks faintly pink now that he was warm. Dwalin sat on the edge of the bed and brushed Ori’s hair carefully from where it fell over his eyes. He looked breathtakingly lovable. His hands were wrapped around the pillow Dwalin was sleeping on. The detective laid Ori’s glasses he had found on the floor on the bedside table. He could perhaps make a breakfast... or a lunch considering the time...

He got up again and went to kitchen. He couldn’t very well expect his housekeeper’s invitation for lunch after he had politely hinted that she wasn’t the best of the cooks few weeks ago... She was ignoring him ever since. He scanned the shopping he had done before he went to meet Ori yesterday. It didn’t really cross his mind that things will go the way they went, otherwise he would have bought something different...

He thought about what he was able to cook and then settled for the fact that he will have to order pizza... Oh wait, the eggs... he can make an omelette, right? Nothing hard on that. Does he have salt? Of course he does, Balin’s wife insisted on equipping his kitchen when they stayed for the night a month ago. Now he had all those useful things every woman would swoon over but which were totally useless for him. Like flour... and wheat starch... what was that even for?

So he made four omelettes, gulping down two of them himself. He was siting at the kitchen table with a straight view on his bed. Ori turned to his other side, taking the pillow with him, mumbling something in a soft voice, never waking. Dwalin sighed, the food will get cold... Maybe he should have waited for Ori to wake first and then make it. Yep, he should have definitely done that. He needs to remember it for the next time. Well he can’t go out and buy new eggs now, Ori might wake and think he had just left him in his apartment like yesterday’s night meant nothing...

Well, he could do the dishes in the meantime. He didn’t wash a single thing during the last four days. So he did it now, careful not to make too much noise. Then he climbed out to the fire escape and had a cigarette, noticing while standing there, the laundry basket in his view, that he should do the laundry... and perhaps sweep the floor... He sighed, not really in the mood for any of it... He lit another cigarette and looked at Ori’s Café at the end of the street. Did the merry boy manage to open it on time? He will know Ori wasn’t there in the night, there will be no fresh pastry to sell... Excellent, now he’s ruining Ori’s business... Oh screw it! He can sweep the floor, at least he will think of something else!

By three in the afternoon the whole apartment was shining as new, Dwalin’s last pack of cigarettes finished, half-eaten cold pizza on the table... and Ori was still sleeping. Was this normal? Wasn’t he sick? Dwalin just came back from the bedroom for the seventh time, obsessively making sure that the boy was breathing. He couldn’t handle it for much longer. He needed either Ori to wake up or another packet of cigarettes... Preferably the first option. He reached for his phone.

'Hmmm?'

'Thorin, it's me, am I disturbing you?'

'Please, disturb me all you want, this is just terrible...'

Dwalin hesitated, 'What the hell are you doing?'

'Watching Die Hard... all of them in a row. Started from the last one, am on the third one now...' They were both quiet for a moment and then burst out laughing simultaneously. 'No, seriously, what do you need? And be quick, the scene with the gallons and water is coming soon and I want to see that.'

'Fair enough,' Dwalin chuckled, 'listen, do you think it’s normal if someone, someone who doesn’t usually sleep more than two hours a day (if he sleeps at all), sleeps the whole day?'

'For how long exactly?'

Dwalin counted in his mind. 'Twenty hours...'

'Hmm... well sometimes people sleep this long if they have a really big lack of sleep. You know, their body is trying to catch up on the rest it’s missing... Either that or you really wore him out last night...' Thorin laughed. 'All right, let’s be serious. If he’s breathing and doesn’t look in any way sick, than I’d say he’s fine and he’s just getting a nice long sleep now because for some reason he couldn’t before.'

'Thanks,' Dwalin said, a huge relief easing his need for cigarettes.

'No problem, now hang up, they’re in the park already...'

Dwalin did as he was asked and sat back into his chair again. So Ori was sleeping now because he finally could... Was it because of him? Because of some safety Dwalin represented in his mind? Just as he thought that Ori stirred in his bed. He stretched slowly and reached for his glasses. Dwalin smiled. Did he leave them on the left bedside table at home as well? Was he sleeping on the left side of the bed there too? He could see Ori looking at his watch and sitting up quickly, looking around, probably for his clothes.

'Forget it, you’re not going anywhere till you’ve eaten something,' Dwalin leaned on the doorframe, watching the boy in front of him. He looked gorgeous. His hair ruffled, his cheeks pink, his white skin in a wonderful contrast with the gray sheets... Ori’s hands reached for the blanket automatically when he heard his voice, but he then seemed to realize that it was rather needless now, Dwalin had seen him naked already. So he left his hands where they were. He blushed and dropped his gaze to the sheets.

'You’re not hungry?' Dwalin asked, not really sure what else to say.

Ori’s eyes flew to his and he smiled, 'Oh, I am...'

Dwalin smiled back at him and went to the wardrobe. 'You’ll have to wear something mine now, ‘cause your clothes are wet...' He took out a shirt and jeans that could fit him and passed them to him.

'Why?' Ori took the clothes, running his fingers over them gently.

'They got dirty from the soil from the cactus pot, so I washed them, they should have been dry by now, but... they’re not,' he answered. He noticed they were dirty when he was sniffing them some three hours ago. Definitely not for some perverted kinky reason, he just... missed the boy’s smell...

'I’m so sorry I dropped it,' Ori clutched Dwalin’s clothes.

'Don’t worry about that, you may have saved its life...'

'So you cleaned?' the boy asked, a playful smile on his lips as he glanced into the kitchen.

Dwalin bit his lip. Now it’s going to look like he’s trying too much... 'Not really, just the laundry... The shower’s over there. Tea?' Yep, he had found tea. While not cleaning at all.

...

'You could get in trouble, too,' Ori said so quietly that Dwalin on the fire exit almost didn’t hear him. He took advantage of the time Ori was in the shower and ran down to his housekeeper to borrow some cigarettes. As a result he was much calmer now and Mrs. Jackson was talking to him again, because he praised her choice of cigarette brand.

Ori ate the omelettes Dwalin made hours ago and was now finishing his half of pizza, when he suddenly laid down his fork and uttered those words. What did he mean by that?

'You said yourself that the police will soon figure out who shot the burglar. And if they find out about... us... they’ll maybe think that you knew the truth all along and was only witholding it because you were with me... you could get in trouble because of that...' Ori raised his eyes to Dwalin, 'I don’t want that...'

The detective went inside again, sitting down next to the boy and not saying a thing. He couldn’t force him to tell him what happened.... Well, he could. Of course he could... And if it was someone else and not the boy with whom he had the best sex of his life he probably would...

'I went back to the library,' Ori said after a moment, his eyes fixed on a pattern the cheese had created at the bottom of the pizza box, 'They just started to serve the dinner and Dori realized he forgot his glasses there. So I offered to go and bring them... I don’t really like spending time with him, any of them... Any chance to get out is welcomed. So I went to the library and noticed the window was open. I could have sworn that all of them were closed when we left. But I didn’t look around at the safe because it didn’t cross my mind that someone... I took Dori’s glasses and wanted to close the window when someone grabbed me from behing...

I just saw his reflection in the window, he was much bigger and stronger than me and he had a gun. I might have screamed... I must have, otherwise nobody would have come. It was so quick... I remember being scared and thinking only about how I must get that gun out of his hand or he’ll shoot me with it. He’ll shoot me and I’ll die... It was such a terrible thought... I don’t know what happened then, suddenly he wasn’t holding the gun anymore and he started strangling me. And then there was a gunshot, the burglar cried out and leaped out of the window. And Nori was there, with the burglar’s gun... He saved my life... Then the others came running in and all turned into such a blur... Dori was saying that we can’t tell anyone about the shooting because Nori could go to prison but the whole household staff heard it, the neighbours probably heard it too... 

And the Heart of the mountain was missing. If the thief had only dropped it, if he had left it there, we could have said that nothing ever happened... but the jewel was missing. So Dori came up with a story we should tell and I think we were all in a shock then, it didn't cross anybody's mind that it was self-defence... And by the time it did, we already told the police the false story and it was too late to change it... Dori sent the others to the hall to pretend in front of the staff that they heard the shot from there because there was the burglar’s blood all over the window and me in the library... His wife washed it off then before police came...'

'But not all of it...' Dwalin muttered. Excellent. Brilliant. Screw it all. He ran his hands over his face. Poor health, eh? His little brother was nearly strangled. He could have been shot had Nori not been a good gunman. Smaug’s blood all over him... And the bastard just waves his hand over it and says poor health... He seriously needed to figure out a way how to punch him right in that face without getting sued... He was hoping this whole time that it was Dori, he would gladly arrest him. He would probably even crack a smile while reading him his charges. 'Where was the gun then? When we arrived?'

'Nori had it on him the whole time... It’s really small...' Ori’s voice quivered. 'Are you going to arrest him?' Tears in his eyes again. Dwalin pulled him into his arms, sitting him on his lap.

'No, he was only protecting you...' he whispered in the boy’s hair. But Nori was withholding the evidence, they all were... Damn it. 'We'll figure something out..' But it still didn’t explain how the burglar got in in the first place. One was not supposed to open the windows in the mansion from outside, without breaking them, that is... They were really sturdy and secured. At least when it came to solid windows Dori wasn’t all that thrifty...

Ori kissed his neck. Lightly, as if not sure he can... It distracted Dwalin completely.

Then the boy’s stomach rumbled and he blushed.

Dwalin chuckled, 'We should go out and get some proper food.' He made a move to stand up but Ori stopped him.

'Could we stay here? I can cook something...' he was looking at his hand where it was holding Dwalin’s.

'You don’t have to go to the Café?'

Ori hesitated for a moment, but then decided that he didn‘t. 'It’s closed on Sunday... and I could call Kili to close today as well...That is... if you don’t mind me staying here...' He looked at the detective with those warm brown eyes. Dwalin opened his mouth to say that no, of course he didn't mind. But somehow his breath was taken away... A boy he had met only three days ago was now sitting on his lap, in his own dressing gown, his hair still damp... he looked immensely gorgeous. Back in the mansion he barely knew his name and yet he worried about him already... God, where was this heading...

He bent down and kissed him. Pulling him even closer, relishing in that wonderful softness he felt underneath his lips, the feeling of Ori’s tongue in his mouth... Of course the boy could stay. He was his to protect now...

*****

It was rather... spectacular. Ori could take all those useless things Dwalin’s kitchen was full of and somehow create delicious things out of them. He snooped around the cupboards for a while, exclaiming with delight everytime he found something he did not expect (most of the time). Said it was going to be enough for the two of them (yes, he used those words, 'the two of them', it sent an unexpected warm feeling through the detective), he went to change to Dwalin’s clothes (regrettably in the bedroom) and set to cook.

'Who are they?' Ori was standing by the wall, looking at one of the pictures there, while waiting for the home-made baguettes to bake. Now that he felt that their realtionship was established in some way, he was back to his chatty self and even dared to ask a question from time to time.

'That’s Balin and his wife, in Ireland...'

'You have the same eyes... and lips,' Ori smiled and turned to glance at Dwalin.

'It just looks like that from the picture, in reality I’m much more handsome than he is...'

Ori giggled and moved to a row of postcards next to the photo. 'They’re from all over the world!' he said suprised.

'Yeah, they both love travelling so they are always somewhere on the move. I don’t think they have ever stayed at one place for more than two years, ever since they met... Balin says they’re looking for a _perfect_ place, one that will charm their hearts and once they find it they will stay there...' He went and stood by the boy’s side, his gaze running over the cards. He had to have more than two hundred by now, most of them still in one of the boxes from the moving.

' _Some people live their dreams_ ,' Ori whispered, brushing his fingers over a postcard from Barcelona, ' _some people close their eyes... some people’s destiny passes by..._ '

'Do you know song about everything?' Dwalin smiled, he knew this one.

Ori smiled as well. 'It must be nice... to have a family that loves you and sends you postcards...'

'You have a bigger family than I do.'

'I don’t have anyone, not really,' the boy said, his expression suddenly sad but than he turned to Dwalin quickly as if he had just said something bad. 'That’s not true, Nori cares about me. It’s just that... he’s always somewhere, travelling... he never sent me a postcard...'

'Well, you’ve got me now, don’t you?'

Dwalin didn’t know where that came from, or why he said it. But the moment he did, he knew it was true. They could do it, they could make this work. Did he ever feel this way before? Like it could work in the end? No... he always felt like the only way his relationships could go was straight to hell. Why was this so damn different?

Ori opened his mouth slightly, a shaky breath making its way through his soft lips. And then he was in his arms, kissing him like his life depended on it. And Dwalin kissed him back just as eagerly. It came naturally, there was no other way, no other option what to do. This was the way things were meant to be...

He picked him up and sat him on the kitchen table, like back then in his café. Ori was looking at him intently, taking deep breaths as if bringing himself to say something. Did he want to tell him he loved him? But Dwalin knew. How did he know and how could he be so sure? He didn’t know how to explain it but he knew ever since Ori told him he had seen him pass by his café every day for the last two months. Did he want to say this to him? Was he afraid that if he says it, he could make things worse in some way? That Dwalin will think that he is pushing him somehow...

'Do you have a song for us as well?' he asked. He could say it that way, whatever he wanted to say, he can say it like that. Dwalin will understand.

A small smile flickered across Ori’s lips as he thought, his eyes never leaving Dwalin’s. 'Angel of mercy...'

Dwalin kissed him, pulling his own shirt from Ori’s warm body. 'How does it go?'

' _Angel of mercy... how did you find me?_ ' Ori whispered, his voice hoarse and Dwalin reached for the zipper of his trousers.

' _How did you pick me up again?_ ' the boy moaned when the detective pulled his pants down and ran his fingers over his length.

' _Angel of mercy, how did you move me?_ ' Dwalin’s shirt joined the clothes on the floor.

' _Why am I on my feet again?_ '

Their eyes met and Dwalin didn’t know what to say. This... could he really mean that much to the boy? But it was their song, it could be just as well about him. The boy did mean that much to him.

' _And I see you_ ,' Ori whispered, his arms reaching out and caressing the detective’s chest, ' _and I feel you..._ ' his fingers unzipping Dwalin’s trousers.

The light from the oven reflected from Ori’s watch onto Dwalin’s stomach for a moment and it hit him. The way the burglar got into the house. Why, it was so simple...

But then Ori’s small fingers wrapped around him and he moaned against the boy’s lips, the world disappearing again, leaving only the two of them. The two of them... 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lyrics from: Toto - I'll be over you  
> OneRepublic - Mercy


	5. Day 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The fifth day, during which the whole city runs out of water, beds are not used and a flower or two gets eaten... :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, it's a tad longer... :)

# Five Days For the Detective

### Day 5

'He told you all that?' Thorin sat back and looked at Dwalin. The detective nodded, toying with the Heart of the mountain in front of him.

'What a nice bunch of liars... Too bad it wasn’t Mr. Dori himself though...' the chief inspector finished his cup of coffee and put it back on the table with a sigh, got up and stretched.

Dwalin smiled, 'My sentiments exactly...'

'Well, we can charge him with withholding evidence and false testimony. And the rest of them, too... I’d like to know how the hell did Smaug get inside if the windows were really closed when they left for dinner... Plus we still don’t know anything about him. Nobody in the printing offices knew a thing, they never even saw anyone matching his description. Apparently any woman would remember a guy like that, one of them even told me that she would willingly give his all order for free to such a man... Can you believe it?'

Dwalin raised his eybrows. That was possibly the longest monolog he had ever heard his friend say. He strongly suspected that Thorin was trying very hard to concentrate on the case (and talking helped him in that) because he didn’t want to think about the fact that today was the 22nd and his phone was as silent as ever.

'First of all, we do know how Smaug got inside. Second, yeah I believe she said that, he is rather handsome after all. And last but not least I would very much appretiate it if you could find a way how to leave Ori out of that charge of withholding evidence and false testimony,' Dwalin glanced at Thorin and realized that the chief inspector had stopped his usual pacing.

Thorin was staring at him, because of which of his three points, Dwalin didn’t know. Then he sat down, intertwined his fingers in front of his lips again and looked at his best friend.

'All right, I‘ll give you that one, there’s something about him. But what the hell do you mean - we know how he got inside? And where does this sudden care for young Ori come from?' He was back to his normal self, straight to the facts, that was good. 'Oh wait... please don’t tell me he’s that insomniac in your bed...'

Dwalin decided to ignore that last remark and instead went to the tv, rewinding the tape from Dori’s library to the point where the jeweller closed the safe. 'Watch this,' he mumbled and Thorin joined him in front of the screen even though thay have both seen it countless times. The time flickered at the right bottom corner, 17:36. The back of Mrs. Dori’s black robe blocked their view for a second as she stood next to her husband, patting his arm with a diamond encrusted hand. Nothing weird about either of them. At 17:37 Mr. Dori said something and they both disappeared out of the field of the camera’s vision, followed by a set of shadows of the others, the camera catching neither of them. At 17:38 a golden gleam flashed over the safe and Dwalin paused the video.

'Well?' he turned to Thorin with a smug grin. He coudn’t help it, usually the chief inspector was the smart one here.

'Well?' Thorin repeated, staring at the screen, his expression mystified.

'That gleam right there. We thought it was light from the fire, a log flaring up or something,' he said and Thorin nodded, 'but the fireplace is on the left from the safe and that gleam comes from the right...' He rewound the tape and they both watched the golden light hitting he safe again. It was quick but definitely came from the right.

'Yeah, you’re right, but there was no fire or anything on that side...'

'No, but the window through which the burglar got in is there.'

'So what you’re saying?'

'So what I’m saying is that someone came back to the library and opened the window for Smaug to get in. Someone dressed in something that caught the light from the fire and reflected it back on the safe as she passed to the window, knowing very well which way to go to avoid cameras...'

Thorin inhaled deeply as the understanding hit him, 'Our little miss...'

They both grinned at each other. 'That’s what you get when good ol' cotton isn’t good enough for you and you wear fancy shiny silk... or whatever that was...' Dwalin muttered.

The chief inspector turned back to the screen again, inspecting it like he could find Mr. Dori’s daughter‘s confession written there somewhere. 'Why do you think she did it?'

'No idea,' Dwalin shrugged, took a cigarette out of a pack and went to the window. 'There was a hickey on her neck. Perhaps they’re lovers and she wanted the jewel for him... for some reason...'

He took a drag and exhaled, watching the white smoke soaring slowly, lazily to the sky and disappearing between the rays of the morning sun. He wondered whether Ori already woke up or whether he will find him in his bed when he gets home.

They made love yesterday again, right there on his kitchen table... It looked like it was slowly becoming their habit, love-making in places other than bed... Only this time they didn’t break anything, only burnt the baguettes. Dwalin chuckled. Ori was such a neat freak and yet when he got aroused all thoughts of tidiness and order went to hell. He got more daring then, too...

A sudden wave of heat ran through Dwalin as he remembered. Ori sitting on his table naked, his small warm fingers running over his length gently, his lips on Dwalin’s chest, tongue brushing over his nipples...  Ori suddenly sliding down from the table and getting on his knees right in front of him... And him holding the edges of the table, crushing them, grinding them with the sheer force of his grip. Because of what Ori was doing to him, what his lips were doing to him...

He couldn’t do anything else than pant and mumble Ori’s name. It was as if the boy knew precisely where and how to touch him... He wanted him so badly that any thought of not taking him right at that instant was physically hurting him. He pulled Ori up into his arms and kissed him, the boy’s fingers digging into his hips. He pressed himself closer to Dwalin, his hardness rubbing against the detective’s and kissed him back. Puffs of his hot breath brushing Dwalin’s lips in between kisses. And Dwalin tried to calm down a little, he knew he was rough with the boy, that his kisses were bruising his lips, that his hands were probably leaving bruises on his arms... If he was to take the boy when he was like this...

'It’s all right...,' Ori whispered against his lips, 'I will be all right...'

He broke the kiss and moved slowly backwards to the table, the whole time looking at Dwalin with eyes full of desire and reassurance. He was incredible, he was perfect. Every little thing about him was forcing the detective to leave everything behind and concentrate only on him. He leaned against the table, his right hand still holding Dwalin’s, pulling him closer to himself. He licked his lips. Such an innocent and natural thing, his tongue brushing over his lower lip, leaving it wet... He ran that same tongue over him a minute ago, leaving him just as wet...

Dwalin couldn’t hold it any longer. He reached for the boy, kissing him roughly before turning him and bending him over the table. His hands reaching for Ori’s hips, his hardness sliding into him in one quick thrust. The boy’s fingers digging into the wooden table, his voice crying out Dwalin’s name.

All those things he got to feel then. Ori burning hot around him, and oh so tight... His warm body shivering beneath him, his flawless white skin in front of him for only his eyes to see... A worry whether Ori was all right flashed through his mind but then he felt him relaxing around him and he started to move slowly, his pace quickening with every thrust... He ran his hands to the boy’s sides covered in sweat, and Ori grasped one of them with his own, biting the other to stop himself from shouting. His chest was heaving as he panted... God, to see him like this... Ori squeezed his hand. Faster...

He could get lost in that moment, to go through this over and over again, till the end of time... He bent down and kissed Ori’s back, taking in his sweet scent. The boy gasped at the sudden and unexpected sensation as he moved inside him as well.

'Dwalin,' he whispered, or cried, Dwalin didn’t know, because right at that moment Ori came, he came with his name on his lips. The name resounded through Dwalin, shaking everything inside him like the mightiest drum. He couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t do anything... only hold Ori, clutch onto him desperately as he himself came. It was thrilling, exhilarating... it was frightening. Only a single uttered word could do this to him... It was blissful. His knees gave up and he collapsed on the boy.

He had never done all that many reckless things in his life, but this... with Ori... He had never thought about anything less. And yet every minute, every second of it was filling him with unexpected delight and excitement...

Why is that?

'I don’t know, I rather think that it’s hereditary and she is just greedy, like her father. Wanting more...'

Dwalin winced. He had spoken his question aloud without knowing it and had completely forgotten that he was in his office with Thorin. What were they talking about? Ah, yes, why would the girl help Smaug steal the jewel...

He didn’t want to be there. He wanted to go home and see if Ori was still there. He wanted to crawl into bed with him, let the boy reassure him for the hundredth time that he was all right, kiss him and make love to him. They haven’t tried that yet, making love in bed...

*****

It was actually rather amusing, the way everyone reacted after Thorin finished telling them what they had found out about the robbery.

They were all seated in the sitting room, like in some novel from Agatha Christie, but unlike Hercule Poirot, Thorin stuck firmly to the facts, stating them clearly and briskly, without any dramatic pauses and as a result nobody had any time to act or pretend.

Mr. Dori opened his mouth three times without uttering a single word, before sitting down on his sofa with a muffled thud, apparently out of words to say for the first time in his life.

His wife on the other hand jumped up from the sofa, threw her cup on the floor and yelled 'What a nonsense!' as the carpet slowly soaked up her tea ('imported straight from their close friend in Sri Lanka, not that awful stuff you can see in the shops'). It will probably cost more to clean that carpet than Dwalin earned in a month...

Mr. Nori gave a deep sigh that couldn’t be interpreted as anything else than a sigh of relief. Reaching to his collar he did something so socialy inappropriate as loosening his tie. The pressure of shooting a human being and then keeping it a secret evidently too much for him.

The always calm Mrs. Nori turned pink and stabbed a particularly long needle into her embroidery on the table with such a force that the needle broke, its fragment missing her face by a hair's breadth. She squeaked when she realized she had made a hole into the embroidery where one obviously wasn’t supposed to be.

Ori next to her fixed his eyes on Dwalin, his lips slightly parted. His hands were in his lap, his face completely pale once again. He knew they were going to tell his family that they know the truth about the shooting and robbery. But Dwalin didn’t tell him that they had found the Heart of the mountain and that his niece let the burglar in...

If Dwalin had any doubts about his theory, they were completely dispelled by the prime suspect herself. She flung herself on the table, her curly hair spreading around her head in a flawless circle and started crying. It crossed Dwalin’s mind that at some point in her life she had to practise that move because there was no way anybody’s hair would shape like that naturally... Meanwhile, heart-rending sobbing and weeping came from behind her hair curtain.

'I’m so sorry!' she hiccupped, 'I didn’t mean for him to hurt anyone! I didn’t know Ori was going to go back to the library and he will attack him! I’m so sorry!' Another fit of weeping followed her words.

Dwalin glanced at the others. Mr. Dori’s eyes popped out with the unexpected confession and thus confirmation of Thorin's words. He ran his hands over his face and one could practically hear his thoughts ('This is not happening. This is not happening. I will wake any moment now...').

His wife stepped on the fragments of her cup and addressed her daughter with stern 'Shut up! Just shut up!'

Mr. Nori poured himself a glass of whiskey, this part of the events obviously not of big importance to him.

His wife’s eyes left her emroidery and stopped finally on the bottle of whiskey in front of her husband. She shrugged like things couldn’t possibly get any worse and poured herself a glass as well.

Dwalin would have probably laughed were Ori’s serious eyes not on him the whole time. And were it not for the fact that he was completely wrong about nearly everyone from the beginning.

All right, not so much about Mr. Dori except the fact that in his marriage he wasn’t perhaps the dominant one. Mrs. Dori wasn’t a foolish housewife she pretended to be. She could certainly be pretty capable when need arose and it should have crossed his mind when Ori told him she was the one who washed Smaug’s blood from the window...

And their daughter, neat and trim, and bored... Not really. Just a good actress like her mother. And chatty as her father. The truth was basically pouring from her now, about loving Smaug, a poor car mechanic (yet skilful enough to open any safe within minutes) from downtown that her parents would never approve of...

And Mr. Nori... why, he wasn’t so agitated and inattentive as he first thought. He was pretty cool-headed, able to hit the bull's eye even during a fight when there was a risk of accidentaly shooting his brother. And given his relief over the police finding out the truth, a decent man...

His wife was an enigma still though...

Dwalin‘s gaze fell on Ori. Was he wrong about him, too? Was he also playing some part and was merely better than the others, keeping it still together? A sudden pang of doubt hit him... Was he pretending to be interested in him only to get the detective to help him (and possibly his whole family) out of the mess...? But somehow, deep down, he knew that it wasn't like that. That Ori wasn’t lying. The look in his eyes everytime he looked at him... He did get him right the first time because the boy wasn’t pretending to hide something, only to protect... His Ori didn’t really fit in that family, he didn’t know how to lie...

Mrs. Dori’s voice shrieked, suprisingly strong.'How could you be so stupid? Couldn’t you just tell him to steal the money? Didn’t you realize that if he steals the Heart everyone will be after him?!'

'I did!' her daughter raised her head for the first time, her hair falling back from her red face in a rather unflattering way. 'I told him to only take the money so that we could run away. I even told him to call in the house and say something about the jewels so that daddy would open the safe, and to make sure there is something inside! You know how he is, he gets these paranoia fits and moves everything to the bank safe at least three times a month! It didn’t cross my mind that Smaug will take the Heart, I wasn’t even sure it was in the safe for god’s sake! I just slipped in the library, opened the window and he was supposed to do the rest, steal only the money. But then he attacked Ori and... and...' She flang herself on the table again, though this time her hair didn’t form such a perfect shape.

'Is he all right? The boy?' Mr. Nori turned to Thorin.

'He’s in a coma. He got into a traffic collision while escaping from here,' the chief inspector answered. A silence fell across the room for a moment and then was interrupted again by Miss Dori’s even louder weeping.

Ori eyes roved round the room and then he put a hand on his niece‘s arm and she threw herself around him, crying into his shoulder. There was a strange and distant expression on his face... Why? What did that mean? Dwalin felt another headache sneaking up on him so he stood up and went outside on the balcony to have a cigarette...

'So what happens now?' Mrs. Dori asked Thorin, because her husband was still rendered speechless, just as Dwalin was closing the door behind him.

'The way I see it, madam,' Thorin said looking straight into her eyes, 'you have only two options now...'

*****

Dwalin was standing in front of Ori’s Café, looking inside. He could see the boy despite the darkness inside, sitting at the same table they were sitting on that second night, before he kissed him. He was sitting with his back to the street so he couldn’t see Dwalin standing there, watching him...

It didn’t end all that bad, did it? Mr. Dori’s family clear of all charges, Thorin’s family getting its heirloom back. That was the deal. Only the eight of them will ever know. It turned out that the jeweller cared more about his daughter than the Heart of the mountain in the end...

So why was Ori so upset? Not looking at him even once when they were leaving the mansion... Could it be because Thorin demanded the Heart in exchange for Miss Dori not going to prison as an accomplice? Did he think Dwalin was willing to help because of some profit from the jewel? That he didn’t agree to go with it only because of him?

'Any plans for tonight?' Thorin asked him as they were driving from Blue Hills towards the city centre, 'Want to get drunk?'

At first Dwalin assumed that in celebration but as the chief inspector’s eyes flew to his mobile on the dashboard it was more likely to drown the sorrow. But just as he thought that, the phone began to ring and Thorin slammed the brakes, the car behind them missing them by mere inches. This time Dwalin braced for something like that so his shoulder didn’t hurt even half as bad as the last time.

Thorin took the mobile in his hand, looking at the screen as if not sure what to do.

'You’ve been waiting for it this whole time and now you’re not going to answer?' Dwalin asked.

The chief inspector took a deep breath and put the phone to his ear, 'Bilbo?' And then he exhaled with relief. 'Yeah, I’m all right... No, I’m not hurt... I just...'

Dwalin got out of the car, he felt like this was something he shouldn’t intrude on. The whole city was below him, bathed in the lights of street lamps. He took out a cigarette and while looking for a lighter tripped over something. He sure as hell hoped it wasn’t anything dead...

He could see Thorin’s face illuminated partly by his phone, a small smile spreading across his lips. Now that was a rare sight...

...

Dwalin knocked on the café’s door and Ori turned around. Was it really only four days since he knocked on this same door, offering Ori an ice cream? It seemed so long ago... The boy came to the door, hesitated for a moment and then opened. He dropped his gaze to the floor and took one step backwards.

'I know why you’re here and it’s all right,' he took a deep breath and when Dwalin didn’t say anything, he chanced a look at him. He clutched his keys, 'I understand if you never want to see me again. I‘m terribly sorry for... all of it. I never meant-'

'Why on earth would I never want to see you again?'

Ori looked at him again, 'I saw the way you looked at me back at the mansion... Like you were thinking I was the same liar as the rest of my family, like I s-seduced you or something just to get you on my side... You must think we are all the same and that’s... that’s why you didn’t tell me about finding the Heart or who let the burglar in... because you don’t trust me. And that’s fair. I wouldn’t trust me either if I were you, if I saw what kind of family I come from...'

Dwalin reached for the keys in Ori’s hand and closed the door behind him, locking it.

'I didn’t tell you who let the burglar in because I only figured it out yesterday at night, in the kitchen and I really had no desire to stop you from what you were doing just to tell you that,' Dwalin placed the keys on the nearest table and made a step closer to Ori, 'I didn’t tell you about the Heart because my friend asked me not to tell anyone and because, frankly, at that time it was more important for me whether you had anything to do with the shooting.'

Ori looked at him, his lips trembling slightly.

'Did you ever lie to me?' Dwalin asked, closing the distance between them. 'Except when you were protecting your older brother?'

'No,' the boy answered quietly.

'I believe you,' Dwalin cupped his cheeks, looking into his wide frightened eyes, 'I trust you. You are not your family, you are you.' He kissed him lightly, 'But let’s be honest, you did seduce me. In your own subtle way...' He smiled at him and Ori let out a shaky breath that slowly turned into a giggle. He grasped Dwalin’s shirt and buried his head in the detective’s chest.

'You don’t hate me, then?' he whispered and Dwalin could feel his hot breath through the fabric. He embraced the boy, 'No, I don’t hate you. Quite the contrary, I’d say...'

Ori was smiling when he looked up at him again. 'It took me the first five minutes to fall in love with you and it took you five whole days?' he asked, teasing.

'Five minutes?' Dwalin asked, frowning. He tried to remember what he had done so special within those five minutes when they first met.

'There you were,' Ori pointed to the sidewalk across the street, to the place where the street lamp was flickering. 'The first time I saw you... You left the store and stopped right there, lighting a cigarette. You looked like one of those mysterious and enigmatic detectives from the noir movies, you were only missing a fedora...' Ori smiled but then got serious again, 'But you looked so sad... You looked this way... I don’t think you saw me because it was dark in here but it seemed like you’re looking straight at me. And I had this urge to go out and ask you what was wrong but I didn’t know you, I didn’t know you moved here yet... And then you passed the street and went to the primroses I had under the windows. You ran your fingers over them and smiled...'

Yeah, he did that, didn’t he... He completely forgot. That was the night when he moved to the apartment down the street. He saw those primroses, they reminded him of home and that he didn’t let Balin know he had moved. He remembered how his big brother talked him into eating a primrose when they were children, telling him he will become big and strong. So Dwalin ate all the primroses they had and their mother got so furious with both of them...

'That’s when I knew. I don’t know how, I just knew...' Ori had his head on his chest again, 'That I could spend my life with you. If only you ever came inside...'

Ori was there. He could have just looked up and see him. They could have been together for two months now. Ori could have called him when the burglary happened... Or he wouldn’t be there at all, he would be at home, with him...

'I’m sorry I didn’t look better,' he whispered, kissing the top of Ori’s head, 'I’m sorry I didn’t come in sooner... I’m sorry it took me five days to realize that...' God, it was true. He fell in love with the boy... Ori was not just his lover, he was his love...

The boy looked up at him, his warm brown eyes piercing him right to his soul.

'Come,' he whispered, intertwining his fingers with Dwalin’s and gently pulling him to the kitchen, through green door he had noticed before, up one flight of stairs and through another green door. He closed the door behind them but didn’t turn the lights on. They were in his apartment, a vast room opening in front of them. There was too much space and too little furniture. The windows on the opposite side all open, wind playing with curtains, bringing in Bofur’s music...

'Why does he always play such sad songs?' Ori asked quietly, almost as if reading Dwalin’s mind.

'So that the love of his life would know how much she hurt him by leaving, if she ever came back...'

Ori thought about it, walking absent-mindedly to the window, the wooden floor not creaking at all beneath his feet. Dwalin looked around, even in the darkness he could see that the place was immaculate. Everything had its place and was exactly where it was supposed to be.

'What if she comes back during the day?' Ori asked from the window.

Dwalin chuckled, 'I’ve asked him the same thing...'

'What did he say?'

' _'Don’t ask silly questions, Dwalin. That’s not the point, that’s not the point at all...''_ ' he answered, imitating Bofur's voice.

Ori looked at him with a smile. He studied him for a second and then asked, 'Do you like it here?'

The detective looked around again. Sure he liked it. It was huge, during the day probably full of light, with nice and comfortable-looking sofa and armchairs, nothing broken, nothing creaking... but it looked like a model apartment, not a real home. Was it not for the flowers everywhere he could have sworn that nobody lived there. The boy followed his gaze to where it slipped to a fireplace. A fireplace?

'I like your place better, too...' Ori said and then he suddenly lit up, 'Do you want to see the bathroom?'

And that was where Dwalin couldn’t stop himself and cursed. The whole bathroom was bigger than his kitchen and bedroom combined. All covered with small cream-coloured tiles, all shining in the brilliant light of small hidden lamps that Ori now dimmed because they were too bright. He had lights that could be dimmed... Holy f- But then he realized that the whole middle of the room was taken by a shower... A shower with a breathtakingly huge shower head... Where do you even buy a thing like that?

And then he suddenly imagined what it would be like to make love to Ori right there on that tiled floor, with hot water drizzling around them... He looked at the boy where he was standing next to him, watching him intently. Ori looked at the shower, blushing, 'Would you like...'

Dwalin smiled, 'Yeah, I would like...'

Ori smiled back a little and with trembling fingers pulled his jumper off together with the shirt. He let them fall from his hand, his eyes never leaving Dwalin’s and the detective stripped off his shirt as well. The boys trousers fell to the ground too and Dwalin took a deep breath. Why was it so damn arousing just to watch him strip? He wasn’t even naked.. yet... The last bit of Ori’s clothing descended down... And Dwalin nearly torn off his own so that he could get to Ori, wrap him in his arms, feel his skin on his...

They kissed, deeply, desperately, what a terrible day this was... Dwalin buried his hand in Ori’s hair at the back of his neck, the other pulling him closer while Ori’s hands caressed his spine all the way to his backside...

Slowly Ori guided them to the shallow pool beneath the shower, turning the tap, the hot water hitting them gently like a falling rain, covering both of them... Dwalin tilted his head to look up, carried away, this was just too good... He looked at Ori, the boy smiling at him, tiny drops of water glistening on his eyelashes, biting his lower lip in the sweetest way. His whole body deliciously wet... he was beautiful.

Dwalin bent down and kissed him on the lips. The taste of water mingling with the taste that was normally Ori‘s. The boy closed his eyes and pressed to Dwalin, his hands sliding to the detective’s hips. Dwalin slipped one of his legs between Ori’s, kneeling and laying Ori on the floor gently, to a place where the water wasn’t falling. Shielding the boy so that any stray drops were falling on him. He caressed his lower lip with his tongue, the same place the boy was biting moments ago and Ori moaned, his fingers brushing Dwalin’s backside again.

And Dwalin’s lips moved to his throat, kissing that one place that never failed to make Ori pant feverishly and the boy reached for his shoulders. He didn’t know anyone else so sensitive to touch right at that place but he liked the way Ori’s body reacted when he kissed him there. No, he didn’t just like it, he loved it. So he kissed it one more time.

'Dwalin...' Ori moaned, his cheeks flushed, his eyes still closed and fluttering. Dwalin grinned, he liked this, too. Making Ori so aroused that the only thoughts that came to his mind were about him. He brushed his thumbs over the boy’s nipples, running his tongue over them as well and Ori gripped his shoulders more tightly, arching his back a little.

He held the boy’s sides and slipped lower, to his stomach, following the trail of lightly brown hair. He hadn’t done this before but now he could, everything was allowed between them now. He reached for Ori’s left leg, kissing his thigh and moving it to the side, making more room for himself. And then he pressed his lips to Ori’s hardness, the boy shivering, his both hands covering his face. Dwalin ran his tongue over his tip and Ori arched his back again, a gasp so filled with pleasure escaping his lips that Dwalin had to stop and take a deep breath. He had just very nearly come just from hearing Ori gasp... god...

He pressed his lips to him again, the drops of water falling on his back, the boy’s arms reaching for his hands and holding them desperately. He could feel him getting close, so he ran his tongue over his length one last time before coaxing his other leg to the side...

Ori’s chest was heaving as he opened his eyes, turned dark with passion and looked at him. Dwalin kissed his lips.

'Hold me,' Ori whispered, 'through it all... will you hold me?' And Dwalin nodded, because his own voice wasn’t listening to him anymore. He let his left hand where it was, holding Ori’s beside the boy’s head and slipped the other one to his waist, lifting up his hips like that, adjusting him, before sliding into him. He did it slowly, tenderly, relishing in every second, taking in all the sensations it was bringing... He could hear the blood in his ears pulsing like an echo of his own panting... His whole length was in Ori now and it was bliss. It was all right this time, there was no pain, Ori’s grip on his hand not so strong... He kissed him again and Ori’s tongue met his, soft and sweet... and hot... Everything around him was hot... but Dwalin didn’t mind, it felt gorgeously good.

He huddled Ori closer, before pulling out of him slowly, an unhappy sound coming from the boy. He wanted him inside. Dwalin smiled, he was really different in these moments, asking for what he really wanted... He thrust back, the boy’s fingernails digging in both his hand and shoulder. Dwalin enjoyed it. Teasing him like this, doing it slowly at first and then giving him exactly what he wanted. It was thrilling in a most peculiar way.

But he couldn’t keep on doing that for long because he himself was starting to lose it... There were no more reasonable thoughts... only one. Only Ori... Ori...

The boy’s eyes flew open and Dwalin realized that he had just said I love you... He did, he said it... Because it was true... It took him five days to find out but it was true...

'I love you,' he repeated, the sound of it making his each and every cell much more alive than before.

The boy’s legs wrapped around him and they both gasped at the same moment as the motion brought them even closer together.

'I love you, too,' Ori breathed hoarsely, smiling, looking straight into his eyes and when next their lips met Dwalin felt him come beneath him and within a heartbeat he came as well. Holding Ori the whole time as he promised, the boy clutching to him. He could feel the ectasy spreading through him, his whole body trembling just like Ori’s and becoming weightless, floating, the hot water keeping it pleasantly warm... Ori’s lips brushed his gently and Dwalin hugged him, pulling him closer to himself.

He was never going to let go of him. His lover. His love... 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okaaay, so I suck at writing detective stories... but to my defence, they are way more difficult to write than it seems... ^^ A huge thank you to my dear sra_danvers and every single one of you for reading the story! :)


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